Water board adopts code of conduct

LAKE ELSINORE -- Water board members must now live up to a
higher set of ethical standards or face public admonishment or
censure from their colleagues.

The Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District Board of Directors
on Thursday voted 4-1 -- with member Chris Hyland dissenting -- to
adopt a sweeping code of conduct that spells out how board members
are expected to go about their duties.

The code is modeled on similar measures adopted by other
Southern California agencies, including Murrieta. The City Council
there adopted a code of ethics late last year.

"They had problems," Elsinore Valley board member Harvey Ryan
said, referring to the cityís recent woes, which included the
arrest of a former mayor and a current council member. "I think
it's important for us to be proactive and not reactive. Maybe
that's why they had so many problems."

The code lays out a series of principles -- including
selflessness, honesty and respect -- by which board members should
abide. It also spells out expectations for how they are to interact
with each other, the public and district staff.

Board members must sign an oath promising to adhere to the code.
If they are found to be in violation of the code, they can be
disciplined by the board.

Disciplinary actions range from informal -- an admonishment or a
sanction -- to formal -- a censure.

Board members said at Thursday's meeting that, in adopting the
code, they are taking a step further than recent state legislation
that requires elected officials to attend ethics training.

A handful of residents attended the meeting to voice their
opposition.

Several said they were against the policy because it was aimed
at one person in particular: Hyland, who is often at odds with the
rest of the board.

"This appears to be a direct attack on Chris Hyland," resident
Ace Vallejos said. "It's a personal affront to the people of this
district."

Former board member and longtime resident George Alongi also
spoke against the code. His comments were not so much a defense of
Hyland, he said, but a defense of the integrity of the board.

Board members ought to know how they are supposed to act without
having to be told, he said.

As for Hyland, Alongi went on to say, perhaps the behaviors they
are attempting to curb are an indication that they arenít treating
her with enough respect.

Board members have been critical of Hyland for going to the
press with her problems and not to her colleagues. Alongi said a
reason for that could be that the board isnít listening to her.

"If youíre blindsided, there must be a reason," he said. "You
need to sit down and work with this woman."

Hyland has previously said she thinks the code is an attempt by
the board majority to silence her. Yet, before casting her "no"
vote, she said she is not necessarily opposed to the board adopting
a code of conduct.

Her concern, she told her colleagues, is that the code under
consideration had several problems that needed to be addressed.

When asked by a fellow board member why she hadnít raised those
concerns at the recent study session during which the code was
discussed, Hyland said she hadnít been prepared to do it then.

Williams criticized her for that. Sheís had more than three
weeks to bring her problems with the code to the board, he
said.

"I don't run your schedule," Williams said. "But the district
has business and we have to move forward."